Johnson’ın İngiliz Zalimliğine Sanatsal Direnişi: “Fahişe İngiltere” ve “Oğlundan Mektup” Şiirleri

ÖZ Jamaikalı şair Linton Kwesi Johnson sözcüklerle reggae ritimlerini birleştiren dub şiirinin öncüsüdür. Johnson şiiriyle kendine ait bir sömürge sonrası söylem yaratır ve dub şiirini egemen Batı söylemine karşı yürüttüğü savaşında kullanır. Kreole İngilizcesi ve Jamaika kültürünün ritmik müziğini kullanan şiirleri siyahi göçmenlerin hayat hikayelerini anlatır. Bu nedenle, Johnson şiirleri İngiltere’deki gerçek göçmen deneyimlerini oldukça canlı ve yaratıcı bir biçimde gözler önüne serer. Bu makale Johnson’ın “Inglan Is a Bitch” (Fahişe İngiltere) ve “Sonnah’s Lettah” (Oğlundan Mektup) başlıklı iki şiirine odaklanır. Her iki şiir de İngilizce’yi kasti olarak bozar ve bozuk bir dil kullanır, bu kullanım sömürgeci güçlere karşı dil düzeyinde bir meydan okuyuştur. Ayrıca her iki şiir siyahilere karşı yapılan İngiliz ayrımcılığını ve zulmünü ortaya koyarken, İngilizlerin siyahları tanımlamak için yarattığı vahşi “siyahi hayvan” stereotipinin ardındaki insanı gösterir. Bu açıdan, Johnson’ın şiirleri ırkçılığa karşı şairin kullandığı sanatsal bir silahtır ve şairin siyasi aktivizmine hizmet eder.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Linton Kwesi Johnson, Irkçılık, Dub şiiri, Sömürge sonrası çalışmalar

Johnson’s Artistic Resistance to British Brutality: “Inglan Is a Bitch” and “Sonny’s Lettah”

As a Jamaican poet, Linton Kwesi Johnson is the forerunner of dub poetry that combines words with reggae rhythm. Johnson establishes a postcolonial discourse of his own and uses his dub poetry to fight against the dominant Western discourse. His poetry tells stories from the black immigrant’s life by using a Creole English and the rhythmic music of Jamaican culture. Thus, his poetry voices the real immigrant experience in Britain in a highly dramatic way. This article focuses on two important poems by Johnson; “Inglan Is a Bitch” and “Sonnah’s Lettah”. In both poems, Johnson subverts the English language, and thus reveals his resistance to the colonial power in the level of language. Besides, both poems have the same political concern of revealing the British discrimination against the blacks. In this respect, Johnson’s poetry is surely his artistic tool against racism and serves to his political activism.

Keywords:

Linton Kwesi Johnson, Racism, Dub poetry, Post colonialism,

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